The UN has designated 2024 as the International Year of Camelids. Camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos are an important source of livelihood for millions of families - most of them pastoralists - in dryland and mountainous rangeland ecosystems around the world. The Year is meant to raise the public's and policymakers' awareness of the significant role of camelids in protecting ecosystems, conserving biodiversity, assuring food security and adapting to climate change. The resolution for the International Year of Camelids, proposed by the Government of Bolivia and presented by Ecuador as Country Chair of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), was approved by the UN General Assembly on 17 October 2017 upon recommendation by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN).
Until FAO starts preparing for this year, several organisations involved in the IYRP initiative, including the League of Pastoral Peoples (LPP), are drawing attention to the IYC. Below is an overview (18-slide PPT) on the IYC prepared by the LLP.
The visual identity of the IYC was presented at a side event "Towards the International Year of Camelids: perspectives and challenges" during the FAO Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation in Sept 2023. On this occasion, a group of civil-society organisations issued a statement (see below) to draw the attention of governments, donors, policymakers, scientists and the private sector to the distinct ecological and cultural aspects that should be considered when striving to support the development of camelid-keeping systems and related value chains.
FAO officially launched the IYC 2024 on 4 December 2023 in Rome, Italy (see recording below).
The first international event of the IYC2024 was the International Workshop on Camelid Pastoralism, held on 5–10 January 2024 in Sadri, Rajasthan, India, hosted by Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (LPPS), the League for Pastoral Peoples (LPP) and the Godwar camel pastoralist milk producers. See below the statement issued by the workshop participants.
Also in January 2024, welt-sichten and Misereor (Gemany) brought out a dossier on camelids worldwide for the IYC2024 and the IYRP2026, in English (see file below) and German.
